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Prologue: The Last Moment
The car rolled smoothly down the highway, the fading orange glow of the evening sun painting the sky. Inside, Lucian sat quietly in the backseat, his younger brother Neo beside him, staring out the window with his usual childlike curiosity. Their parents, up front, chatted happily, the kind of conversation that only a family, at peace with the world, could have.
"Lucian, don't stress about your finals," his dad said, giving a reassuring glance over his shoulder. "You'll do great. Just take it one step at a time."
Lucian smiled half-heartedly. "I guess. It's just hard with everything happening."
"You're always overthinking things," his father chuckled. "Sometimes, you just have to let things flow."
His mom turned to look at him, her warm eyes catching his in the rearview mirror. "Your dad's right. You'll be fine. Just enjoy life a little more."
Lucian nodded quietly, but deep inside, he knew something wasn't right. The world around them was changing, and none of them seemed to notice the weight of the shifts happening. The dungeons, the monsters, the strange powers—everything was spiraling out of control. But for now, this moment, this drive, felt like a fleeting sense of normality.
Then, in an instant, everything changed.
The car jerked violently to the side, tires screeching against the pavement. Lucian's heart slammed against his chest as time seemed to stretch and warp. His father's grip on the wheel faltered, his mother gasped, and then, all at once, they went silent.
"Dad?" Lucian's voice trembled, but it fell into deafening quiet. His father didn't respond. His mother's face went pale, her body slumping over to one side, unconscious.
Lucian froze. His hands reached out for them, but his body couldn't move fast enough. In a panic, he tried to shake them awake, but it was no use. The world outside had shifted, and in that moment, their lives had shattered.
Neo, beside him, turned to face Lucian, his eyes wide with confusion. "Lucian, what's happening?"
But Lucian couldn't find the words to explain. He only held his brother's hand, pulling him close, hoping against hope that somehow, their parents would wake up.
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A World Changed
The next few days were a blur of hospital rooms and sterile white walls. His parents were in a coma—locked in some kind of suspended state, their bodies unresponsive as doctors scrambled to find answers. But no one could explain why. No one could understand what had happened.
The world had changed overnight—monsters, beasts, and dungeons. Hellspheres, they were called. And beings from beyond, the Ascendants, began to emerge, wielding unimaginable power. These god-like figures fought each other, tearing apart cities, leaving destruction in their wake.
But Lucian? He was nothing in this new world.
He was a low-tier, someone without magic, without power, and the world made sure he felt that every single day.
He worked odd jobs, barely scraping by, while his parents remained trapped in their comas. The bills piled up, and his little brother, Neo, was too young to understand. All he could do was cling to Lucian, his big brother, for comfort. But Lucian didn't have the answers.
He was empty. Broken.
And every time he thought he had found a way out, he died.
Over and over.
He didn't know why. He didn't know how. But every time he died, he woke up. Same body. Same place. Same grief.
It made him question everything—his existence, his purpose.
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Strange Dreams and A Calling
It wasn't long before Lucian began having strange dreams. Vivid and chaotic, they felt more like memories than fantasies. He saw towering figures made of fire, ice, and shadow. There were impossible landscapes, realms that stretched beyond his understanding, and a single, powerful presence standing in the shadows.
A voice, cold and distant, whispered in his mind during these dreams: "You are not as you seem, Lucian. This world is broken."
The voice wasn't one of comfort. It was dark, laced with an eerie finality. Lucian didn't know who it was, but every time it spoke, his chest tightened with fear, as though something was reaching out to him.
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The Last Hope
Days passed in a blur of uncertainty, until one day, Lucian found himself standing in front of the ACO—the Awakened Control Organization. They were the ones who maintained balance in this fractured world. They regulated the Ascendants, those who wielded the powers of the gods' scattered magic.
"I've lost everything," Lucian pleaded, his voice shaking as he stood before them. "My parents— they're in a coma and because of a fight between two ascendents Their hospital was destroyed. My family… I need to know why this happened. I need help."
The officials, cold and impassive, barely looked at him. They didn't even flinch as he spoke. His words seemed to fall on deaf ears.
"We cannot intervene in such matters," one of them said dismissively. "The battle between Ascendants is beyond our control. You should have known the risks."
Lucian's heart dropped. He tried to argue, to make them understand the depth of his pain, but they wouldn't listen. They dismissed him, as if he were just another casualty in a broken world. His family's death, his suffering—it didn't matter to them.
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A Desperate Choice
Lucian left the ACO headquarters, his body numb, his mind reeling. The world had turned its back on him, and even those who held the power to make a difference refused to care. He wandered the streets, a hollow shell of the person he used to be. The weight of his grief, his anger—it all surged within him.
Standing on the edge of a bridge, looking down at the dark waters below, Lucian felt the crushing finality of it all. He had nothing left to live for. His family was gone. The world was a cold, indifferent place.
But then, just as he was about to step into the void, something stopped him. A memory. A face.
Neo.
His little brother's innocent eyes, full of fear and hope, were enough to pull him back from the brink.
"No," Lucian whispered, his voice cracking. "I can't leave him."
And in that moment, he understood. He couldn't die—not until he had a chance to make things right. A chance to change his fate.
And maybe… just maybe, there was something more at play here. A presence that had been watching him, guiding him toward something greater.
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A New Path
Lucian didn't know what the future held, but he knew one thing for sure: the world had taken everything from him, and he was going to make it pay.
There was power in the world—god-like power—and he would find a way to harness it. He would make them all remember his name.
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